Healthy Tasmania Update - Edition 1 2021

Healthy Tasmania is the Government’s plan for making Tasmania the healthiest state by 2025, focusing on reducing smoking, healthy eating and physical activity, improving mental health and wellbeing, community connections and chronic conditions screening and management.

Healthy Tasmania – the next 5 years

The current Healthy Tasmania Five Year Strategic Plan is due to finish at 30 June 2021, and work is now underway to develop the next phase of Healthy Tasmania 2021–2026.

Guiding the development of a new plan is a significant body of successful activity, partnerships, evaluation and consultation across Tasmania.

There will be a continuing focus on working across government and with local communities and identifying new ways of working together to reduce social and economic factors that influence poor health outcomes.

The plan will build on the strengths, successes, numerous initiatives and funding of the first phase, to continue to improve the health and wellbeing of the community.

We look forward to sharing more with you more soon.

Healthy Tasmania Fund Round 2

Over 100 applications for small and large grants were submitted to Round 2 of the Healthy Tasmania Fund in late 2020. These have been assessed by a Review Panel and successful grants will be in announced in March/April 2021.

The Review Panel noted the high quality of the applications and that many applications showed strong evidence of collaboration with community partners, sustainability and use of community engagement strategies.

Two million dollars is available for community organisations and local governments to invest in the health and wellbeing of their communities in this round.

Successful projects will build community connections while helping Tasmanians:

reduce smoking
improve healthy eating
be more physically active
improve mental health and wellbeing.

All applicants will be contacted and notified of the outcome of their applications. Visit Healthy Tasmania Fund Round 2 for more information.

Listen and Learn sessions now online

The Listen and Learn Series concluded in December 2020, with all six 90-minute sessions now live on the Healthy Tasmania webpage.

Fitting the pieces together of the Listen and Learn Series provides an opportunity to better understand how to work in health promoting ways. 'Listen' to the speakers and discussion and 'learn' tips and tools.

Each session includes interviews, question and answer sessions with local guest presenters and group discussions. They focus on practical ideas to promote health and wellbeing. All sessions are available to revisit:

Learn from organisations such as Working It Out, Clarence City Council, Flourish Tasmania, Jordan River Services, Womensport and Recreation Tasmania, Northern Suburbs Community Centre , King Island Childcare and Early Learning Centre, Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre as well as members from Tasmanian Health Service, and Public Health Services (Department of Health)

Water survey results out

In late 2019 Public Health Services (Department of Health) conducted an online survey of young people’s water drinking habits. It was promoted by community organisations and groups who work with young people, through networks and social media. This resulted in 794 young Tasmanians (18-24 years) completing the survey. The survey participants were representative of the geographical spread of young people in Tasmania, and across ages within this group. The results are in and we want to share them with you.

Key things we found:

Young people need to be part of the solution to reduce sweet drink consumption.
74% of young people drink water as their main drink.
More than 1 in 10 young people drink sweet drinks as their main drink.
Many of those who drink water as their main drink, still have sweet drinks often.
Young people think others drink more sweet drinks than they actually do.
Many young people believe they are influenced by what others drink.
The young people had ideas about what might help them drink water more, such as signs to show where to get free drinking water, and reusable cups and bottles at events.

Positively influencing a social norm change to shift the perception closer to the reality is a potentially powerful approach to improving water drinking. Rather than a negative approach that tells them what they shouldn’t do (drink sweet drinks); positive messaging that shows the majority of our young people drink water as their main drink, could be used.

We encourage all communities and services to consider how they can positively promote water drinking for young people and make tap water more available. We would like to say a big thank you for helping to promote the survey for this research to your communities.

You can watch the survey results in the online video or for a copy of summary report email community.nutrition@health.tas.gov.au

Smoke Free Generation new campaign

Quit Tasmania has launched a new campaign called ‘1, 2, 3…. Hooked’ on behalf of the Smoke Free Young People working group. The campaign features short promotional ads on YouTube, Facebook , Instagram and catch up free to air channels and aims to engage young people to be smoke free. To ensure as many young Tasmanians as possible are aware of the resources, please click on, like and share the links below, which link to different assets of the campaign and the website:

Healthy Tasmania Facebook Challenge wrap up for 2020

Every month the Healthy Tasmania Facebook page offers an exciting challenge competition for participants to share their healthy habits.

For the October Challenge and to align with Mental Health Awareness Month, we asked our audience to check in with their own mental health and to encourage checking in with others. We asked followers what one new way they were going to explore to look after their mental health. Entries included trying out painting with friends, getting out in nature and seeing what life’s like on a farm and caring for animals.

The November Challenge was a timely reminder about the importance of being outside for our physical and mental health. We asked followers how they would be spending time outdoors for their wellbeing. This was our most entered Challenge in 2020 with 46 entries including 25 photo entries, which were later published in a video to share. All entries covered a mix of spending time with friends and family (including furry friends), being active, exploring and being creative and taking it slow with activities including reading, painting, gardening and fossicking. Our three winners won prize packs including a gazebo, drink bottles and cooler bag.

Photo entry for the Healthy Tasmania Facebook Challenge for November.

To welcome summer, the December Challenge asked followers how they were making sure they were drinking enough water each day. Entrants could win an inflatable kayak and two life jackets valued at over $350. A range of answers included tracking water intake with smart devices and apps, having cold water in the fridge, carrying water everywhere every day and even messaging others to remind them to drink. One entrant even sent an image of her water tracker whiteboard and told us how she rewards herself if she hits her goal.

Last 2020 major prize winners drawn

Healthy Tasmania Facebook Challenge major prize winners for the periods September to November and December were drawn at the end of 2020. The third major prize winner chose a $500 local veggie box subscription for her and her family while our fourth major prize winner chose a kayak pack valued up to $500. Congratulations to our winners. We cannot wait to see some images of their prizes in action!

In 2020, we received over 300 entries in all monthly and major prize Challenges and these continue to be among our higher-performing posts on the Healthy Tasmania Facebook page.

Healthy Tasmania 2020 Challenge survey

In January, we asked our followers for feedback on the 2020 Healthy Tasmania Facebook Challenge. The Challenges aim to encourage our Facebook followers and page visitors to get into healthy habits with prizes as incentives. The survey asked how followers found the monthly Challenges while asking why others didn’t participate.

There were a total of 57 survey responses. Of this, 44% of respondents took part in the 2020 Healthy Tasmania Facebook Challenge. The other 55% advised they did not partake in the Challenge as most were unaware of the Challenge.

For the 44% of respondents that took part in the 2020 Challenge, nearly 80% said the monthly challenges encouraged them to develop healthy habits. Respondents said that the benefits of completing the monthly Challenges made them feel healthier (58%) and happier (55%). 48% of those who took part in the survey indicated they were ‘very likely’ to enter future Healthy Tasmania Challenges, while 32% indicated they would ‘likely’ participate in future challenges.

The feedback from the survey will go towards developing future Healthy Tasmania Facebook Challenges. The four winners of the survey will be announced on the Healthy Tasmania Facebook page in February. Good luck to those who entered and thank you to those who completed the survey.

Healthy Tasmania Facebook page

The Healthy Tasmania Facebook page continues to provide information and strategies to assist people with healthy eating, physical activity, reducing smoking, community connections and mental health.

The Healthy Tasmania Facebook page has performed strongly in the last three months, with a 20% increase in page likes, nearly 30% increase in post comments and a 20% increase in total post shares. This is great news as this helps drive our health messages further through organisations and reaching more of the Tasmanian community.

The last months of 2020 were focused on the lead up to Christmas with tips and ideas on topics such as festive food safety, ethical gift-giving and summer road trips with the family. To start off the new year, there was a focus on free kids and family events and activities, how to be safe over summer and helpful advice for those heading back to work and school. We also introduced our ‘Where are we Wednesday?’ posts. Every Wednesday we will upload a Tasmanian location to give our followers some ideas on where they, their family or friends can go to experience our unique island!

Where are we Wednesday? Facebook post (Stanley).

Updated free resources

Are you working with families, people planning pregnancies or older people? We have a range of free postcards with health messages and our website address. These make a great addition to waiting rooms, orientation packs and information packs. Help your clients access local health information and resources.

For families:

breastfeeding
first foods for babies
drinks for children
lunchbox ideas
physical activity.

Pregnancy:

iodine and folate advice.

Older people:

healthy ageing
eating well
foods high in energy and protein
hydration.

For more information and ordering email community.nutrition@health.tas.gov.au

Looking after yourself and your community in summer

While we all love summer for the extra holidays and relaxing times, summer also brings the risk of bushfires and heatwaves which can harm our health. With the right information at your fingertips, these risks can be well managed.

Bushfires

If there are bushfires nearby, or you can see or smell smoke, regularly check the Tasmanian Fire Service website and listen to your local ABC radio station for emergency updates.

There may be a lot of smoke in the air, even if the fire is a long way away. If it’s smoky outside:

stay indoors and keep your doors and windows closed
avoid physical activity outside
consider going to a friend’s place or a nearby library, shopping centre or sports centre if they are out of the smoky area
consider using a high-efficiency portable air (HEPA) filter, available from home electrical stores.

You can keep track of smoke in the air by using AirRater, a free smartphone app that tracks air quality, or go to the Public Health Services website on Track Air Quality.

For more information on what to do when it’s smoky, visit Public Health - Air Quality

Heatwaves

Tasmania normally has cooler weather, which can make us a little unprepared when very hot weather arrives.

On very hot days, remember to:

drink plenty of water, even if you don’t feel thirsty
check regularly on relatives and friends who are over 65, or living with a medical condition such as heart or lung disease, dementia or a physical disability that may limit their mobility
keep out of the sun as much as possible, and if you do go outside, wear sunglasses, a hat and plenty of broad-spectrum sunscreen (minimum SPF 30+)
keep your pets out of the sun and check they have plenty of cool water to drink.

Heat illness can be life-threatening. In an emergency, call 000 for help.

More information on extreme heat

Inspiring Stories – coming soon!

Working in Health Promoting Ways: A framework for health and community services (WiHPW) provides all health and community services staff with the policy guidance, knowledge and tools they need to work in health promoting ways.

Coming soon will be a series of Inspiring Stories from around the State showcasing some of the excellent work of the Health Promotion Team.

For more information about Working in Health Promoting Ways email
healthpromotionframework@health.tas.gov.au

Healthy Tasmania Fund grant recipients recommence projects

We are excited to see our grant recipients from the first round of the Healthy Tasmania Fund hitting their stride after COVID-19 put many on hold. Here are a few examples of projects underway:

At the end of October, Devonport City Council launched their Commuter Café. The café is a place to enjoy a sociable ride (cycle) to work, make new friends and enjoy a free nutritious breakfast to start the day.
In November, Waratah-Wynyard Council and Circular Head Council officially launched the Breathe. Eat.
Move. Relax. Program. They aim to decrease smoking, encourage people to eat healthier, relax more, become more active and participate in events.
Loving Life at Youth ARC by the Hobart City Council has involved young people in decision making about new equipment to help them become more active. They have also provided healthy meals at the centre.

Keep an eye on the Healthy Tasmania portal as we share more stories from across the state.

Photo of young people enjoying the new dance stage at Youth ARC

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